OᑎE ᑭᑌᑎᑕᕼ TIGEᖇ
by ToTooTwo2
Summary: Saitama, a young white tiger has spent his whole life cowering from bandits and criminals and hiding behind the protection of the Furious Five and the so-called "Dragon Warrior." One day, however, when he decides to take things into his own hands, his life is flipped upside-down, with new friends, foes, and threats awaiting him around every corner.
1. Chapter 1 The Strongest Warrior

~CHAPTER 1~

FROM ZERO TO HERO

Three years ago, Saitama was nothing more than a normal tiger. Like most of his species, he was nimble and quick on his feet. He also possessed a decent amount of strength to compliment such agility. Despte this, Saitama was never one to start fights, and normally avoided conflict if possible. Perhaps this disinterest in combat explained the reason he lived such a financially poor life. Very frequently, his house in the Valley of Peace would be raided and ransacked by large groups of bandits and criminals. Of course, the Furious Five would come to defend the town from said attacks, but to Saitama's dismay, he would almost always fall into the minority group of people that were still stolen from, despite the defenses.

As day after day passed, the Valley of Peace was attacked time and time again. And sure enough, almost each and every time, Saitama's money and belongings would be stolen. Sometimes, he himself would attempt to fight off those who broke into his home, but these attempts normally ended with a sword at his throat and a black eye. Thus, Saitama defaulted to compling to the bandit's demands. Each day, Saitama's patience grew evermore thin, until finally, he snapped, deciding that he had finally been through enough. As he walked through his village to buy some food with the minute amount of money he had left, Saitama began to ponder why he always acted so cowardly when danger arose. Sure, retaliation would result in injuries, but was it really all that bad to get a small bruise to protect his own home? With vengence in his mind, Saitama thought to himself, _"Why must I hide behind the protection of so-called warriors when I could just become a warrior myself? I can protect my home AND avoid injuries along the way if I'm good enough!"_ His eyes suddenly widened as an idea sprang into his head, " _That's it! I'll become a- no... I can't."_ Without the special training and practice that the Furious Five recieved, he could never even come close to matching their skill... right?

Saitama pushed the thought out of his mind as he walked up to a nearby food stand.

"Hey, I'll have one loaf of bread please." He said to the goat merchant.

"Sure thing, that'll be 15 yuan (about $2)" The merchant replied.

"Here." Saitama handed the money over and took the loaf. "Thanks!" he said before walking off.

"Come again!" The merchant hollered cheerfully.

"As if I could afford to come again..." Saitama thought bitterly. About five minuets later, Saitama arrived at his house, walked in, and set the loaf on his table. Suddenly, he heard a bang. He turned to see a muscular wolf with a scarred right eye staring at him menacingly, a tinted-red and barbed dagger in his right hand.

"You.." the wolf grunted, "Hand over all of your money, now."

Any other day, Saitama would have complied. He would have given his money up with no issue and no complaints. Heck, he would have probably thrown in a belonging of his as a plead for the wolf not to come back. But today? No... not today. As if by instinct, Saitama, fueled by anger, rushed the wolf for an attack. Seeing this, the wolf raised his dagger to strike, and thrust forwards at the charging tiger. Saitama countered this by grabbing the wolf's hand wielding the dagger, twisting it downward, and landing a direct strike on the left side of the wolf's head. This caught the bandit off guard, causing him to stumble back and loose his grip on the dagger. Saitama immediately took advantage of this by following up with a strong upwards kick to the wolf's chin. It landed with an oddly satisfying *crack.* With another straightfoward punch to the ribcage, another *crack* was heard. At this point, the wolf fell to the floor, howling in pain.

 _"All bark no bite huh?"_ Saitama thought as he took the handle of the wolf's dagger and struck him in the head with it, silencing the wolf's howls and rendering him unconcious. With satisfied look of pride in his eyes Saitama dragged the wolf out of his house and set him in the middle of the street before quietly walking back to his own house, dagger still in hand. As he closed the door and sat on his bed, he still felt the adrenaline from his recent fight, as well as a certain determination and realization he had never had before.

"I don't need skill to win against barbaric opponents, I just need strength! All I need to be a warrior is strength!" He thought to himself. With that, he set for himself a goal that he would work toward, no matter what difficulties they may have lied in his path: Become not just a warrior, but the strongest warrior that the world had ever seen.

The next day, with his nowfound determination and confidence, Saitama began his journey to become the strongest warrior. Each and every single day, he would go through a rigorous exercise routine: One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten kilometer run. During the first couple of days, Saitama's determination was almost extinguished, as his routine seemed both like an impossible task and a fate worse then death. However, he ignored his exaustion and carried on. Three weeks into training, and Saitama had become slightly adjusted to his routine. It still was incredibly exausting and challenging, but not nearly to the extent of how it first was during his starting few days. Three months in, and Saitama could see a noticable increase in his physical bulk, as well as an overall improvement in performance. He had become quicker, more resiliant, and much, much stronger. Saitama's past fear of bandits had vanished, being replaced instead with a hungering vengence. Instead of fleeing, he would now unhesitantly take them on, no matter if they came barehanded or armed to the teeth. Despite his newfound strength and confidence, however, he was occasionally overwhelmed by groups of four or five armed bandits; groups in which he fought solo against every member at once. However, his losses in possesions and currency had drastically decreased. Six months into training, and losing a fight against bandits became seldom for Saitama, which in turn cut his economic and property losses down to miniscule amounts. Saitama had technically become the warrior he wanted to be, yet he refused to let himself stop. He wanted- no, he _needed_ to push himself further.

After one full year of training, Saitama's name was known and feared among various criminal gangs. The number of bandit attacks in the Valley of Peace had slightly, but noticably decreased. The retracted attacks from smaller gangs made way for larger, stronger, and more dangerous groups to have a go at the village, but Saitama stood strong, fighting and proving victorious almost every single time. Reisdents of the village had even begun to give Saitama sums of money as payment for his heroic actions. He had, in a sense, become the village's 'vigilante,' and earned the admiration and respect of numerous citizens. Not everyone, however, was so joyful about this. Surprisingly, it was the Furious Five and their master, Shifu, who looked down with vexation upon Saitama and his undisciplined methods of combat. Each member of the group all had one specific exasperation in regards to the tiger. Mantis disdained his lack of precision, both Viper and Crane were apalled by his lack of grace and borderline barbaric fighting style, Monkey disliked his lack of resourcefulness, and Tigress, well, she didn't hate Saitama, but she was very, _very_ jealous of his strength, such jealousy ultimately amounting to hate. Despite all this "opposition," Saitama continued to defend the village, no matter how much the Five detested him for doing so.

Year two of Saitama's vigilante conquest proved to be a very fruitful time for him, as he had effectively lowered the crime rate in the Valley of Peace by almost 50%. Large criminal groups still intermittently proved to be a challenge to Saitama, but he would rarely suffer any injuries from battle. On top of all this, Saitama's "vigilante revenue" as he called it, had substantially increased. Saitama's reputation with the Furious Five, however, did not show any signs of improvement. They all still despised him, even more so than before, especially since the residents of the village had started to ask him for combat training lessons. To these requests, Saitama always responded with the same thing: "I have no training, all I did was an exercise routiene: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a ten kilometer run." Eventually, the Five caught wind of this training routine, and attempted to perform it themselves, although they strangely could not find the strength to fully perform the routine daily. Shifu strongly disapproved of this, and scolded his students time and time again that, "Strength alone does not make a good warrior! Do not stoop to the level of that dillusional fool! He would be crushed by any warrior with skill!" Despite Shifu's harsh scoldings, the Five still attemped, but failed, to perform Saitama's training in secret. As time passed, their resentment for Saitama began to recede, and they began to even slightly admire him.

During the third year of Saitama's warrior conquest, he had become objectively invincible. Weapons such as swords, axes, and hammers all proved to be useless against him. That is, if the weapons could even touch Saitama in the first place. Through his training, Saitama had gained inconceivable strength, speed, and endurance. Foes fell to him in a single punch, most of the time before they even knew he was going to attack. Fights between bandits and the Five that used to drag on for ten to fifteen minuets were now over in less than two. Atthis point, Saitama had technically bested the Furious Five at their own job! Speaking of the Five, Saitama became quite familir with fighting along side with, and mostly saving them during battle. Everyone in the village greatly respected Saitama, including the Five, who even began to believe that he might be the Dragon Warrior. But Shifu, as always, refused to believe that someone as "reckless" as Saitama could ever even qualify for being anything close to the legendary Dragon Warrior. Well, in Saitama's eyes, it didn't really matter whether or not he was worthy of being the Dragon Warrior. Heck, he didn't really know or care what the title even meant. To him, all that mattered was that he had acomplished his goal of becomming the strongest warrior the world had ever seen. He, by his own standards, had gone from zero to hero.


	2. Chapter 2 Tai Lung

~CHAPTER 2~

TAI LUNG

It is a perfect day in the Valley of Peace. The bright sun shines down, illuminating the village with a warm, golden glow, the air whistles with a gentle, almost melodic breeze, and to top it all off, there hadn't been a single bandit attack all day. For once, the Valley of Peace finally seems to be, well, peaceful! Saitama steps out of his newely purchased home, breathes in a large breath of fresh air, and, for the first time in six months, smiles. It was a good day to be happy, especially for Saitama. Finally, he had both become the world's strongest warrior, and single-handedly ended nearly all crime within the Valley of Peace. Perhaps best of all, the vigilante revenue Saitama had recieved from his work as village defender, along with the fact that he no longer lost any money to bandtis had made him significantly better off financially, his now house being a standing proof of that. Over all, there was simply no reason for the tiger to be joyous and smile!

(Well, actually, hold that joy because surprise surprise, there infact IS a reason not to smile. And judging by the title, I think you know what that "special something" is...)

GONG... GONG... GONG... The booming sound of a gong echoes throughout the village as a frantic rabbit bangs their mallet on the percussion instrument. Every townsperson, including Saitama, has come over to see what the commotion was about, confusion written on each of their faces. The rabbit banging the gong soon drops his mallet before shouting at the top of his voice, "Tai Lung is approaching! Everyone run for your lives while you still can!" Suddenly, the village is sent into a panic, as fear soon replaces the villagers' looks of confusion, and every hapless animal begins to scramble and take refuge from this so-called 'Tai Lung.' Saitama, however, stands still among the chaos, and proceedes to ask a nearby fleeing pig who 'Tai Lung' supposedly is. "You seriously don't know?! He's the most-feared kung fu master in ALL of China!" The pig exclaims. "He just escaped Chorh-Gom Prison, and is heading towards our village!"

"Why? What does he want?" Saitama asks. He gets no answer, as the pig has already run off. Saitama shrugs and simply walks back to his house to catch some shut-eye. However, a few seconds later, Saitama is interrupted when he hears a thunderous roar. Walking outside to see what had made the noise, he spots a very large and muscular tiger with spotted white fur and a ferocious glare lusting for vengeance. Crowds of animals scream in terror as they hide behind buildings, stands, and even each other, all fearful for their lives. _"Hmm."_ Saitama thinks to himself. _"I guess that's 'Tai Lung.'"_

He is about to confront the tiger, when he suddenly catches sight of six shadows soaring over him. Looking up, Saitama sees the Furious Five along with a panda, who land directly infront of Tai Lung.

Tai Lung smirks, "Well well, what do we have here? Some foolish so-called 'warriors' here to stop me? How cute."

"We'll see who the fool is when you taste the fury of my AWESOMENESS!" shouts Po.

"Oh?" Tai Lung says, a smirk still plastered on his face, "and just who might you be?"

"Me? I'm Po, the glorious, awesome, strong, courageous, handso-"

"Po! Get on with it!" Tigress hisses, clearly annoyed.

"Uh, I-I'm the Dragon Warrior!" Po shouts.

Tai Lung almost bursts out laughing right then and there. "You?" He asks while cracking up, "The Dragon Warrior?" He starts to laugh mockingly, "You're a panda! A big, fat, panda! How could you ever even begin to _think_ that you could face against someone as strong as-"

"Hey!" Tai Lung was cut off by Saitama yelling from behind the Furious Five, "Can you shut up? Please? People are trying to sleep!"

Tai lung's smirk twists into a livid glare. "WHO SIAD THAT?!" He roars.

"Me." Saitama says as he pushes past the Furious Five. "Like I was saying, you don't have to be so lou-"

"YOU!" Shouts Tai Lung. "HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME?! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT-"

Tai Lung begins shouting a monologue, one which Saitama completely ignores. Instead, he thinks to himself, "Man, this guy is a real nussance. No wonder people hate him so much..."

"NOW THEN, FACE ME!" Tai Lung yells as he then charges at Saitama.

"Hmm?" Saitama ses the tiger rushing twoards him, and quickly ducks out of the way of a kick aimed for his face. Tai Lung whips around to face Saitama again and growls in anger. He suddenly unleashes a violent flurry of jabs, punches, and kicks of all kinds. Despite their speed and ferocity, Saitama finds no difficulty in dodging each and every one of the strikes. Suddenly, Saitama catches one of Tai Lung's hands mid-punch, and glares at the tiger with an annoyed expression, "Are you done yet?" He asks, his voice not-so-subtly riddled with annoyance.

Tai Lung responds with a low growl, and, with his other arm, throws a full force punch. Saitama lets the strike hit his face, resulting in a very audible *crack!* and Tai Lung recoiling back in pain.

"Argh! My hand! I broke my hand!" Tai Lung wails in agony as he grips his now broken appendage.

Saitama, who remains unfazed, releases Tai Lung's hand and slightly raises his brow.

"It's broken? That's odd. Your punch didn't feel all that strong." He comments. "well, anyway, I suppose now it's my turn."

With a small smirk on his face, Saitama raises his arm, brings his fist back, and lets it fly. It's target? Tai Lung's face.

 ***P O W***

The sound of Saitama's punch echoes throughout the Valley of Peace, its sheer force instantly obliterating what was once known as China's most feared kung fu master. As the dust settles, all that visibly remains of the two combatants is a small tuft of Tai Lung's fur laying on the ground, as well as Saitama, his punching arm still extended.

"Well then, that's takes care of that." Saitama says aloud while retracting his arm. He turns around to head home, but is stopped in his tracks when he realizes that each and every one of the animals in the crowd are starting in shock, amazement, and slight terror. Even the Furious Five stood astonished, their mouthes agape. "What?" Saitama asks, his head slightly tilted "was it... something I said?"


	3. Chapter 3 The Invitation

~CHAPTER 3~

THE INVITATION

The scene was quiet, a bit too quiet for anyone's comfort, really. An entire crowd stood in shock, awe, and terror of what they had just witnessed. One of, if not, the most feared kung fu master in all of China, and perhaps of all time, had been defeated by a mere one punch. Almost one minuet of complete silence passes, until a certain panda by the name of Po breaks the silence, "That..Was... AWESOME!" he shouts.

"Thanks." Saitama replies plainly.

"How on Earth did you get that strong? Who's your trainer? Who are YOU?" Po asks as the Five roll their eyes, already knowing the answer.

"Well, uh, My name is Saitama, and my strength comes from my 'training.'" Saitama answers, a bit taken aback by Po's sudden onslaught of questions.

"Who trained you?"

"No one but myself."

"W-what?!" Po stutteres. There was no way that this tiger could have become this strong on his own, right? Po was about to barrage Saitama with more questions, but was cut off mid-sentence.

"Listen Po, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'd rather just go home now. See ya."

With that, Saitama runs right past Po, the Furious Five, and the awstruck crowd in what seemed to be an instant. More silence fills the area, as everyone is still trying to comprehend the events that had just unfolded.

Later at the Jade Palace...

Po and the Five all had rushed back to the Jade Palace to tell Shifu of what outrageous occurance had just gone down. They spoke to him about Tai Lung's arrival, Saitama's lack of fear, and the one punch that ended it all. At first, Shifu didn't believe his students, or, more accurately, was in denial. "He must have had help, right? Used some sort of method?" Shifu asks almost desperately. The Five simply shake their heads.

"No Master." Tigress replies. "He took Tai Lung head on and singlehandedly. All it took was... a single punch; all it took was strength..."

Shifu, upon hearing this, becomes furious, as he is still in strong denial that Saitama could have defeated someone as skillful as Tai Lung. "I trained Tai Lung myself!" Shifu yells. "That 'Saitama' shouldn't have stood a chance!" In his own rage, Shifu demands that Tigress bring Shifu to him, which she reluctantly sets off to do so. "I'll be the one to prove to this fraud that skill will ALWAYS overtake strength!"

~At Saitama's House~

*Knock knock knock*

"Hm?" Saitama sits up upon hearing a knock at his door. He rubs his eyes sleepily before getting up to answer.

*Knock knock knock*

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Saitama calls in an annoyed tone as he walks over. "Sheesh, have some patience." He mutters. Upon opening the door, Saitama is greeted by, to his surprise, Master Tigress of the Jade Palace. "Oh, you're that tiger from earlier. Hello." He greets.

"Greetings, Saitama." Replies Tigress with a bow, "I have been sent here to offer you an exclusive invitation to the Jade Palace."

"Really? I thought you guys hated me?"

Tigress iss taked aback. "W-well the truth is, we, the Five, don't exactly 'hate' you. You could say that we're a bit... jealous, though. As for Po, well, he won't shut up about you and your 'awesomeness.' It's just Shifu who, well, 'hates' you."

"Oh. Why is that?"

"Well, he keeps saying that your lack of skill in combat and use of nothing but sheer brute strength is 'foolish' and that you would pale against a truly skillful foe."

"...Tai Lung wasn't skillful?"

Tigress sighs, "Listen, from what I've seen from you, I doubt any amount of skill would be enough to overtake you. I just need you to come to the Jade Palace so that Shifu can, uh, 'test' your strength. Just, uh, please go easy on him, alright?"

"Ok."

-Back at the Jade Palace-

"Where is she?" Saitama murmurs to himself as he stands impatiently atop the 1000 steps of the Jade Palace. He waits for about a minuet before hearing Tigress running up the steps, her breath heavy in slight exaustion. "Oh, there you are. What took you so long?" Saitama asks, walking towards the tiger. Tigress coughs a few times before responding, "I'm... not as fast as you, Saitama." she says, still breathing heavily.

"Really? If I knew that before, I could've just carried you up here." Saitama replies.

"W-what? N-no!" Tigress stutters, slightly flustered at the suggestion. She then walks over to the Jade Palace doors and pushes them open. The two enter the palace, walking through a large hall lined with many different kung-fu artifacts. Master Shifu, stands at the end of the hall, his head down and his arms crossed behind his back. As Saitama and Tigress approach, he lifts his head and begins to speak while Tigress joins the rest of the Five, near one of the rows of artifacts.

"Saitama, it seems that you've gained quite the reputation with the village inhabitants, and regrettably, my own students. They tell me that you defeated Tai Lung with a single punch. Is this true?"

"Yes." Saitama replies with a nod.

"Well then," Master Shifu continues, "you wouldn't mind if I were to... test your strength and _skill_ , would you?"

"Not at all."

"Then," Master Shifu chuckles as he gets into a fighting stance, "Let the 'test'... BEGIN!"


	4. Chapter 4 The True Dragon Warrior

~CHAPTER 4~

THE TRUTH

Master Shifu leaps forward and unleashes a powerful kick towards Saitama, who easily dodges the attack ducking. His seemingly instant reaction time and fluidity in dodging comes as a surprise to Shifu, but he doesn't plan on giving up; not any time soon. He launches himself towards Saitama again, throwing another kick, this one aimed at his chest. Saitama simply side steps the strike, causing Shifu's foot to kick nothing but air. The red panda growls in frustration upon landing, and jumps back about ten feet away from Saitama. He begins to strike multiple different stances before bringing his hands close together. A small fireball begins to form between Shifu's hands, before he suddenly hurls towards Saitama. The tiger dodges Shifu's concentrated inferno with relative ease. "Strike one." Saitama says jokingly. The fireball, which had hurled past Saitama, and slams into the person standing behind him, which just so happens to be Po. The panda is send flying back into the Furious Five, who are knocked over like bowling pins. Shifu growls, and hurls another fireball at Saitama. This time, Saitama counters the attack with a punch, decimating the fireball instantly. "Strike two."

Shifu was awestruck; the Mongolian Fireball was said to be an unstoppable attack! Even still, he was determined to not give up. In an act of near desperation, Shifu begins to spin at a rapid speed around Saitama, before suddenly facing the tiger and thrusting his palms forward. A green ball of energy flies from his hands towards Saitama at a blinding speed. Instead of dodging or punching, Saitama _catches_ the ball of energy, "Strike three." He says with a smirk, before throwing the ball straight back at a dumbfounded Shifu, sending him flying out the back of the Jade palace. "You're out, Shifu."

-Area where Shifu landed-

Shifu groans as he slowly wakes up, his head throbbing in pain. He slowly cracks open his eyes, soon catching sight of a yellow aura surrounding him. Master Oogway stands silent, his eyes closed and hands extended, presumably producing the aura. "M-Master Oogway?" Shifu asks, clearly confused, "W-why are you here?" Oogway slowly opens his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Ah Shifu, you're finally awake. I'm quite relieved that my chi could help you." He states calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"When Saitama deflected your Thundering Wind Hammer, you were sent flying away from the Jade Palace."

"Well, yes, I know that." Shifu replies, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Ah, but what you _don't_ know is that the fall from the Jade Palace down to here ended your life..."

"Wait... what? Then how am I-"

"The healing power of chi; it can heal wounds made by even the strongest of warriors... even Saitama."

"I see... wait, how do you know about Saitama?" Shifu asks.

"How could I not? He is the talk of the town, after all. And, of course, the dragon warrior.

"Ah, I s- wait... WHAT?!"


	5. Chapter 5 Confronting The Truth

~CHAPTER 5~

CRUSHED DREAMS

Master Shifu couldn't believe what Master Oogway had just told him. Saitama being the Dragon Warrior? Impossible! Oogway had chose Po in the ceremony! "B-But Oogway, you picked Po as the Dragon warrior! You even told me that it wasn't an accident!"

"Ah, Shifu, Po was simply a test."

"T-test? Of what?" Shifu Asked

"Your patience and trust were both tested. Po was a difficult student, but you were able to train him. You also trusted me that Po was the Dragon Warrior." Oogway responded.

"So what am I supposed to do now? Kick Po out?!" Shifu asks, his temper slowly rising.

"No. Po will be Saitama's disciple."

"If Po is Saitama's 'disciple'..." Saitama said shaking, "THEN WHY WOULD YOU MAKE _ME_ TEACH HIM?!" Shifu shouts"

"Saitama does not know skill. He only knows strength. So then, you were to teach him the skills of kung-fu, and Saitama was to teach him the strength of combat." Oogway replies with a certain calmness in his voice.

"Master" Shifu begins to say, "I think... you've made a mistake."

~At the Jade Palace~

Po and the Furious Five are beginning to worry about their master. Tigress especially, as Shifu was her technical "Father." She shoots Saitama a dirty look, who in return, simply shrugs and says, "Relax, I'm sure he's fine."

Back with Shifu and Oogway...

Master Shifu and Oogway have just finished their conversation, with Shifu now tasked to tell Po the true reality of his "Dragon Warrior" status. It is a sad bit of news, but surely Po will understand. Right? Shifu slowly makes his way back to the Jade Palace, a slight linp in his step, as even after the chi healing, he still felt some pain from Saitama's punch. As Shifu finally opens the great doors of the Jade Palace, he feels two furry arms wrap around him in a strong embrace, followed by a familiar voice.

"Your Alive!"

It's Tigress, obviously quite happy to see Shifu alive.

"Yes, Tigress, I am indeed alive."

After a recounting of the revent events, Shifu send Tigress back to training and calls for Po.

"Yes Master Shifu?" Po answers cheerfully while walking into the palace hall.

"I need to talk to you, privately." Master Shifu says with a hint of sadness in his voice. Master Shifu then leads Po to his room, to confront him with the truth.

"Po." He said "I have something...difficult to tell you."

"W-what is it?"

With a deep sigh, Master Shifu finally spills the beans, "Po... you are _not_ the Dragon Warrior."


	6. Chapter 6 Square One

~CHAPTER 6~

SQUARE ONE

"W-what did you say?"

"You are not the Dragon Warrior Po." Shifu states solemnly. An uncomfortably long moment of silence passes by before Po breaks the silence.

"Master Shifu, that's... that's so... FUNNY!" Says Po, before bursting out in hysterical laughter. "Not the Dragon Warrior, HA, yea right!" Po howls as he continues to laugh hysterically. Although Po is laughing his pants off, Shifu still knows the truth. And to him, this truth hurt. Telling Po that he wasn't the Dragon Warrior seemed almost cruel to him, like he had played a sick prank on some upsuspecting panda. But no matter what the red panda thought, Po still needed to know, one way or another. So, with another deep breath, Shifu reaffiemed himself in a more stern voice. "Po I am _not_ joking."

"Oh yes you are!" Po replies, tears welling in his eyes from laughter.

"No... I'm not." Shifu responds

"Yeah you are!" Po shoots back.

"No, I am not."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes."

"NO."

"N-no?"

"No, Po. No"

"Oh." Po says finally, just now realizing the truth. "OH." He murmurs, the fact just now hitting him. Shifu was serious? He isn't the Dragon Warrior? "Y-you really mean that?"

With a solemn sigh, Master Shifu nods his head slowly. Upon him doing this, a wide range of emotions come flooding into Po's head like a tsunami; confusion, sadness, and even a bit of anger. If he wasn't Dragon Warrior anymore, he wouldn't be staying in the Jade Palace! He would have to go back to helping his dad make soup- back to being a nobody, back to being just a big, fat panda! No! He can't let this happen! _"Maybe I can still convince Shifu into letting me stay?"_ Thinks Po who is already devising ways to sneak back into the palace, should he be kicked out.

"Now Po." Shifu begins "you won't be kicked out of the Jade Palace, but instead simply 'demoted' down a rank." Another wave of emotions wash over Po. This time joy, gratitude, and, well, confusion.

"What do you mean 'demoted'?" Po asks, "Am I gonna join the Furious Five? Is Tigress finally gonna stop being jealous of me? Wait, if I join the Five, then we would be six, and couldn't be called the Furious Five! Ooh, can I think of a name Master Shif-"

"PO! BE QUIET!" Master Shifu shouts, the panda's incessant blabbering never failing to thin his patience.

"Oh, s-sorry." Po apologizes.

With a small sigh to calm himself Master Shifu continues, "To answer your question, Po, you will not be joining the Five. Instead, you will become the new Dragon Warrior's apprentice. "

"Aaaand the new Dragon Warrior is?"

"Saitama."

Saitama... the name brings many recent memories to Po. The white tiger who defeated both Tai Lung and Master Shifu; the warrior who's name was known and feared among countless criminal groups. Po would be his apprentice? How?! How could Po even come close to Saitama's strength, never mind be his apprentice? With a shake of his head, Po pushes the thoughts away and mentally accepts his new position. "Well then, I guess its back to training." He remarks. "Back to square one."


	7. Chapter 7 Words of Wisdom

~CHAPTER 7~

TRAINING BEGINS

Po walks out of his room, now well-informed of his new position; apprentice of Saitama, the 'real' Dragon Warrior. The panda was told by Shifu to start his training immediately, so he does just that. Po finds Saitama standing in the training hall, staring into the blank space of nothingness. In a way, the tiger looks almost hollow, as if he is nothing more than a mere husk of a being. Po lies in hesitation to speak for a few moments, but eventually breaks the silence with a simple, "Hello?" Saitama, who was once standing perfectly still, reanimates to like and turns to face Po, a confused expresson on his face. That is, until he remembers his duty recently assigned by Master Oogway, "Oh, Po, you came. I've been expecting you."

"Really?" Po raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Can you like, see into the future? He asks, now intrigued at the tiger's possible "future sight."

"No, I was just told by some old turtle guy that you would meet me here."

"Old turtle?! That was the great Master Oogway you were talking to!" Shouts Po, who is in utter disbelief at Saitama's blatant ignorance.

"Oh? I've never heard of him before." Saitama replies. Po is about to criticize Saitama for this lack of knowledge, Saitama cuts to the chase before Po can begin a rant. "Come on then." He says, "let's start the training."

"Alright!" Po replies with a newfound enthusaism, "So, Master Saitama, should I just go into the training hall and show you what I can do?"

"Saitama, call me Saitama." The tiger says back. "And no, I want you instead to get on the ground and do one hundred push-ups.

"WHAT?!"

"Did I stutter, Po? One hundred push ups." Saitama repeats.

"B-but." Po stutters in protest.

"Now!" Saitama says, this time with more force. Po, not wanting to get on Saitama's bad side, instantly flops to the ground and starts doing pushups- Or, at least his best attempt at pushups.

"One, two, three..." Po beguns to count. "Four... five...six" He starts to feel a bit tired "S-seven...eight..." His fatigue is greatly increasing. At ten push-ups, Po is sweating barrels. Twelve, and Po feels like his muscles are going to give out on him. Surprisingly, they stay strong at twelve pushups... but give out at thirteen. Po gasps as he collapses onto the floor, completely tired out.

 _"What? That's all?"_ Saitama thinks to himself. _"Surely he can do more. After all, this panda used to be the Dragon warrior."_ Then again, maybe the title of "Dragon Warrior" meant nothing. It sure is meaningless to Saitama. _Perhaps it is just a name given to the strongest warrior in the Jade Palace?_ Well, there was no time to ponder that now, as Saitama had to still train a now wheezing Po.

Po, still being exhausted and lying on the floor, is too winded to even get up. He is breathing heavily, his lungs taking in as much air as possible. After one or two minuets, Po finally gets back up and looks at Saitama, "I-I'm never gonna be able to do this, Saitama."

"Sure you can." Saitama replies, not wanting to be rude. "You just have to train hard and never give up."

"But I'm just some big, fat, flabby panda!" Po protests.

"Oh? And what ever happened to being the Dragon Warrior?" Saitama asks.

"You took that title from me!" Po says back, slightly irritated at the question.

"Was that title of Dragon Warrior why you were strong, Po?"

"Yes- NO! No, I-" Po stutters, struggling to find an answer.

"Surely you are just as strong as you were before. I remember when you were the one defending _me_ from countless bandits, Po. You were nearly unstoppable!"

"Y-yes but-"

"Po, your strength has not left you, just because you _title_ has left you."

"Maybe not, but my pride sure has!"

"Pride?"

"Yeah! No one's gonna respect me anymore because of you! You took my place as Dragon Warrior, and now I'm gonna go back to just being Po! A big, f-"

"Do you not realize how much better your position is now, Po? You are not just a big fat panda, bit _the_ big fat panda; The Dragon Warrior's apprentice, nonetheless. To be honest, I think that title should give you more pride and respect."

"W-what? How?"

"Think about it, Po. Both you and the people of this village have seen my strength. To think that you are my apprentice should be an honor. You are not just the apprentice of me, but of the strongest warrior in the world, in history, even! How does _that_ make you feel?"

Po begins to consider Saitama words. As much as the panda denied it, Saitama was right. Being his apprentice is indeed an honor. He'd be considered second to the strongest warrior ever! This optimistic view fills Po with a new strength and determination, as well as an openness to self-improvement. "Alright, Saitama." Po replies, "I understand now. Your words wise, and I thank you for them. But I must ask..."

"Yes Po?"

"How did you come up with such wise advice?"

"I didn't. Master Oogway told me to say that."

"Oh."

"Well Po, let's try some more training!"

"Yes Master Saitama!"

"It's Saitama!"


	8. Chapter 8 A Returning Foe

~CHAPTER 8~

NIGHTMARE REBOARN

Po trained in the supervision of Saitama for hours on end, seldom ever stopping. At first, he almost gave up, but Saitama would not let him. So, Po kept training, taking only two to three breaks a day to eat. As the days went by, Po began to train harder, constantly inching closer to his one-hundred pushup goal. Soon, after about three weeks, Po was able to able to do the full one hundred pushups, situps, and squats, following up by one hour of training with the kung-fu equipment. The only thing Saitama had to ease Po into now, was the ten kilometer run. It started out as a three kilometer run, but eventually, Po was running the full distance.

As one month rolled by, Saitama could see a significant difference in Po. He had become much stronger than before, and had lost almost ten pounds. By two months, Po had become almost unbeatable. Well, at least the Furious five couldn't beat him during sparring matches. All seemed good at first, until a certain tiger started to become a bit jealous of Po. This tiger, of course, was Tigress. She began to watch in the shadows as Po trained with Saitama, a bitter scowl plastered on her face. She took back up her old habit of punching punching ironwood trees to train, sometimes sneaking out during the night to do so. Tigress did not want to accept the fact that Po had become stronger than her, and sometimes pushed herself to unhealthy boundaries, going as far as to use knives to cut her hands and arms to build up a resistance to pain. One day, however, the tiger finally snapped...

Po wakes up and stretches his arms, letting out a loud yawn before taking a breath of fresh air. Today marked yet another day of training. This time, he plans to train in the palace courtyard with a few of the training dummies. As he walks out of his room and into the kitchen, he notices Tigress, sitting at the dinner table. She wears a menacing glare- as she normally does, and seems to be staring at the table. This time, however, her angry expression seems... more intense, as if there is something big bothering her at the current moment. "Hey Ti!" Po greets in his normal cheery voice. The tiger does not respond. "Uh, Tig-"

"What?" The tiger asks, her voice dripping with venom.

"Are... you alr-"

"Yes, Po. I'm fine." Tigress says, her glare still focused on the table. Just from the tone of voice alone, Po can tell that this is a lie.

"Are you s-"

"YES, PO. I. AM. FINE." Tigress replies while she grits her teeth. Po, not wanting to annoy her any further, says nothing and quickly walks back out to the couryard. Back in the kitchen, he swore he could smell blood. Little did he know, Tigress had been clutching a kitchen knife in her freshly cut hands, as the panda had nearly caught her in the middle of "pain training." Po shakes the thought off, and begins his training with a small speck of suspicion in his mind. The whole time he trains, Po feels like he is being watched- as if someone is waiting to jump out and attack him. However, no matter how hard he looked, he never caught anyone looking his way. As Po reels his arm back to strike one training dummy, he feels a hard strike slam against his back, knocking the wind out of him, and sending him flying forwards, into the dummy. He quickly recovers from the strike, and whirls around to see Tigress, her glare now focused on a shocked Po.

"T-tigress? What the heck was that for?" He asks, his back still sore from the strike.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to fight. You training seems to have to paid off, so I'm here to test it."

"But I've beaten you multiple ti-" Po starts to say.

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" Tigress shouts. "I WANT TO FIGHT, NOW."

The ferocity of this shout startles Po a little. He had seen tigress angry many times before, but _never_ as infuriated as this! "O-ok, T-tigress. Let's fight." Po says, his voice hinting with uncertainty. Tigress's glare twists into a half-satisfied, half-evil grin as if to say, "You're dead meat, panda." Suddenly, she leaps up and, to Po's surprise, unsheaths her jet-black claws before taking a swing at Po. Po narrowly avoids the swing by ducking, and just as narrowly avoids another, this one aimed straight for his face. Seeing the need to retaliate, Po unleashes a strong side kick at Tigress, who catches his foot with her fist and launches a punch at the panda's face. Po ducks under this punch, before using his foot, still being held by tigress, as a base for a drop kick to her chest. Tigress is sent back a few feet, but stops herself by digging her claws into the court floor, leaving deep marks in the process.

With a newfound rage, Tigress roars and lunges at Po, unleashing a volley of punches and swing at Po. The sheer chaos if her attack does catch Po off guard, and the panda is hit a couple times by a few swings. Unlike his old self, however, Po is only minutely pushed back from these landed strikes. He begins to charge at Tigress, hoping to get another kick in, but is stopped in his tracks when he hears a deafening thud.

"What the-?! What was that?" Po asks aloud before sprinting towards the noise to check. He bursts through the court doors and begins running down the thousand steps, the bottom of which the noise had originated from. Tigress, who still sees this fight as unfinished, immeidately chases after Po, not wanting the fight to end at a draw.

"GET BACK HERE PO!" She shouts as she begins to chase Po. She eventually catches the panda at the bottom of the steps and is about to punch him, but stops when she realizes what it is that Po is staring at: The village, one a lively and bustling place, was completely destroyed. Many houses in the village have been transformed from beautiful architectual constructions to mere piles of rubble. Among the seemignly completely vacant village stands a single small house. Both Po and Tigress begin to cautiously approach the structure, that is, until it suddenly collapses in front of them. Immediately, they both get into fighting stance, and continue to approach the now destroyed house. As they approach, a large figure walks out of the dust. The figure soon comes into clear view, revealing themselves as someone quite shocking for Tigress to see.

The figure is none other than Boar, back for revenge. Many years ago, Tigress, along with the Furious Five, had beaten Boar when he tried to take over the Valley of Peace. During that fight, Boar had tried to use only his brute strength alone to beat the Furious Five, but was soon vanquished by their skill. This time, Boar is equipped with heavy steel armor, along with a giant, stone war hammer. He wears a menacing grin on his face, and has steely eyes, hungering for revenge. Upon seeeing Tigress, his grin grows, and he spoke in a voice all too familiar to the warrior. "Hey there little kitty, ready for round two?"


	9. Chapter 9 Round 2

~CHAPTER 9~

ROUND TWO

"Ready for round two?" The words echo through Tigress' head again and again. She stares at Boar with slightly squinted eyes. In her mind, there are two sides of her debating the situation.

"Boar is back, so what? We can easily beat him!"

"Yes, but villains are always more powerful the second time around!"

"So? We're more powerful too!

"Yes but he has a hammer and armor this time!"

"But we've dealt with weapons before."

"I know but-"

"ENOUGH! Just dodge the hammer coming at us, would you?"

"Wait what?!"

Tigress had become so caught up in thought, that she didn't even see Boar swinging his hammer straight at her. She iss sent flying back and lands hard on the ground. "Too easy." The brute grunts as he begins to stalk toward Tigress to finish her off. During this time, Po snaps out of his shock and springs into action. He leaps forward and strikes Boar with a strong punch to the face, followed by a high kick. Despite Po's congured strength from training, Boar is unfazed by the panda's attacks, mostly due to his steel armor. With a grunt of anger, he turns his attention to Po and raises his hammer to strike. Po's eyes widen in sudden shock at seeing his apparnet doom - Boar's hammer - coming down towards his face. He shifts back and covers his face in preperation for the strike. However, it never comes. Po slowly opens his eyes to see Tigress, her hands locked around Boar's hammer, and current in a struggle for dominence with the brute. She suddenly rips the weapon out of Boar's hands, and delivers a mighty swing to his chest, The hammer lands with a loud *CLANG,* but only slightly pushes Boar back. "Heh, look at you! You're just as weak as you used to be!" Boar say with a grin. "What a dissapointment."

With an enraged growl, Tigress swings at Boar once again, only to completely miss. Boar takes advantage of this, and immediately grabs Tigress by the neck. He begins to tightly gress, causing her to drop the war hammer. As the tiger begins to suffocate, Po runs up to Boar and tries to make release of Tigress, but to no avail. No matter how many punches or kicks Po throws at him, Boar would not let Tigress go, much less even flinch. Tigress' vision start to become blurry due to lack of oxygen, and eventually completely blacks out. Suddenly, her body goes limp. Seeing this, Boar smirks, and violently throws Tigress to the ground, her body landing with a sickening thud. He then turns to Po, who has a mortified look on his face.

"Oops, looks like I broke it." Boar sneers, "Good thing it wasn't valuable anyway."

Upon hearing this, Po's shock and fear morphs into anger and rage. However, instead of throwing more pointless punches at Boar, he decides to take a more defensive approach. Instead of attacking, he would dodge. Although the brute is strong, Boar is also quite slow, which gives Po a fairly easy time dodging his attacks when focused. After about five minuets of consistant dodges, Po feels himself begin a tire. Due this conjured fatigue, it was only inevitable that Po should be hit. And indeed he is; a strike form Boar's hammer sends Po flying back about eight feet. He vaults back up onto his feet, but is sent flying back again by another swing of Boar's hammer, the blow this time knocking him out. That was it, Boar had won. Po is unconcious, and Tigress is most likely dead. All Boar has to do now is truly finish off the two fallen warriors.

"HA HA, I HAVE WON!" Shouts the brute. "You two were PATHETIC! I almost feel bad for you..." He begins to gloat. "Well, any last words?" There is no response. "Hmm, guess gloating is less satisfying when no one's around to hear it." Boar murmurs to himself.

"Actually, I heard you." A voice says from behind Boar. He whips around, only to be met face to face with Saitama...


	10. Chapter 10 Loss of a Friend

~CHAPTER 10~

FALLEN WARRIOR

"AH!" Boar stumbles back. "W- who are you?" he asks, still a bit surprised by Saitama's sudden appearence.

"I am Saitama. The Dragon Warrior."

"You? The Dragon Warrior? Please! You're just another pathetic tiger!."

"I _was_ once a pathetic tiger. I was once weak like you but-"

"YOU CALLIN' ME WEAK?!" Boar roars in anger.

"Yes." Saitama responds, "Like I was saying, I-"

"Oh, you're DEAD MEAT!" Boar shouts as he lifted his hammer and forcefully brings it down onto Saitama. To Boar's surprise, however, his hammer smashes nothing but the ground. Saitama now stands behind the brute, arms crossed behind his back.

"Too slow." The tiger remarks. With a small grunt of frustration, Boar tries again to bash Saitama, yet his attempt is once again fruitless. He swings again, then again, then again! Had it not been for Saitama, clearly present for the fight, Boar would've looked like a madman swinging at nothing but air. After a few more dodges of Boar's hammer, Saitama decides to end the fight. He suddenly charges towards Boar from behind and nabs his hammer. Afterwards, he leaps upward and hurls the weapon down at Boar with extreme force. A loud boom is heard, followed by a large cloud of dust being kicked up. When Saitama lands and the dust finally clears, he can clearly see nothing but a crater where Boar once stood.

Saitama walks up to the giant crater that he had just created, only to find that rocks toward the crater of it were blackened, as if they had been hit by a meteor. In the direct center of the crater lies the now shattered bits of Boar's warhammer. The ironwood handle had been completely obliterated, leaving only splinters of wood behind, while the stone that once formed a hammer head had been practically powderized. After eyeing the crater for a couple seconds, Saitama begins to walk back to the Jade Palace. However, upon remembering Po and Tigress, he runs back over to tend to the two downed warriors. He first walks up to Po and attempts to wake him up. Saitama calls the panda's name over and over again, but only recieved silence from Po as an answer. After many attempts at calling Po's name, lightly tapping him, and even slapping him at one point, Saitama finally gives up. "I can't do this much longer." He says to himself. "I have to get back for lunch." However, Saitama suddenly hears a small groan from Po.

"Urrrgh" Po mumbles as he begins to wake up. "L-lunch? Someone say lunch?"

"Oh, you're awake." Comments Saitama, who is slightly relieved at Po's "aliveness."

"W-where are the others?" Po asks in a drowsy tone before sitting up.

"The Jade Palace."

"All of them?"

"Well, Tigress is still here. She hasn't woken up."

"Oh, wait, what?!" Po was now fully awake.

"I said, Tigress still hasn't woken up."

"Oh no." Po starts to panic. He stands and rans over to Tigress, who is still laying limp on the ground. Po began to shake her in an attempt to wake her up. However, to his dismay, Tigress does not even stir. Po is now extremely scared, as his best friend may or may not be dead. He puts his ear up to Tigress' mouth to listen for breathing, but hears nothing.

"Oh no, no, no..." Po murmurs as he checks Tigress for a pulse. Once again, nothing. "No no, no no no NO!" Po shouts. "T-Tigress, please don't be dead! I can't loose you!" Po begins to tear up. "Please!" he begs "Don't be dead!" There is no answer from Tigress. It is certain, Tigress has died.

Po sat next to Tigress' dead body, weeping for nearly an hour. He was in deep sorrow over his friend's death, and most definitely at an all-time low point in his life. It is at this moment when Saitama finally decides to speak up.

"Po?" He asks.

"What?" Po replies in a voice stripped of emotion.

"You do know that we can just bring Tigress back to life with chi right?"

"W-WHAT?!"


	11. Chapter 11 The End?

~CHAPTER 11~

PEACE AT LAST

Tigress slowly awakes, her eyes fluttering to life. She slowly sits up to find Po, Saitama, Shifu, and the Furious Five staring at her in worry.

"Ugh, w-what happened?" Tigress asks, her mind still foggy from the recent events.

"Well, you um... died, Tigress." Viper answers, seemingly in disbelief at herself saying such a thing.

"C-come again?" Tigress blinks in surprise.

"You died." Saitama states blankly. "But because of chi, you're back here, alive."

Tigress shakes her head, still trying to grasp what has just been to her. She then slowly stands up and says in a mixture of both shock and confusion, "I... I see then." Tigress then starts to walk to her room, still quite confused.

"Tigress, where are you going?" asks Po.

"I... just need some time by myself Po." Tigress answers. "I... still don't fully understand what the heck it is that just happened." With that, Tigress slips into her room and starts to meditate.

"Well, what now?" Saitama asks the rest of the five.

"I really don't know." said Shifu. "Both Tai Lung and Boar are defeated, and Saitama has already rid the village of bandits, so there are no real arising threats as far as I'm concerned."

"Does that mean we can finally relax?" Po asks.

"Not quite, for there is still one thing we must do." Shifu says with a small smirk.

"What?"

"Training."

"No!" Po yells. "Not more training! Anything but that!"

"I'm sorry Po, but training is mandatory."

"I know, but-"

"So let us waste no more time and train." says the red panda, cutting of Po no other opposition, Po, Saitama, the rest of the Furious Five, and Shifu all walk into the training hall and began to continue sharpening their kung-fu skills. At last, all is well and peaceful in the Valley of Peace... for now.

The End?


	12. Chapter 12: The True Meaning of Strength

CHAPTER 12~

THE TRUE MEANING OF STRENGTH

 _"Mother... Father... what fools you were. Such ignorant and cowardly people. I had a dream... and took it from me; banished me to this forsaken place out of fear of my success. Well, look where they are now... dead, disceased, nothing but bad memories for me. But here I am on my conquest to take over China. With a furious army under my command, an unbeatable weapon in development, a brilliant plan to take over China, and my iron will fueling it all. There is no doubt... I will be unsto-"_

"Lord Shen!" A gravely voice calls from behind the peacock.

"What?!" The bird whips around in annoyence to face one of his wolf henchmen, bowing in respect. The canine has only one eye, as there is a leather patch covering one of his sockets. Shen looks upon the wolf with disdain, as if to mentally establish his superiority over the creature. "This better be important; you interrupted my thoughts!" Shen snaps at the wolf.

"I'm sorry, Lord Shen, but I bring news of great importance. We've discovered an opposition to your conquest, and I fear that it poses a great threat to you." The wolf explains.

"Tsk, do you take me for an idiot?" Shen asks, offended at this possibility. "What could possibly stand in my way? What defense is too strong? What kung-fu is too skillfull? What w-" Shen is cut off by his wolf underling.

"That's just it, Lord Shen. The threat I speak of is not a user of kung fu. They are instead a being of, unimaginable strength. Rumors have gone so far as to say he can defeat any foe in only one punch."

 _One punch? Impossible! Such a being can't exist! But... just to be sure..."_

"And who might this so called 'being of unimagineable strength' be?" Shen asks.

"They are a tiger who goes by the name... Saitama."

"Saitama." The peacock repeats the name to himself. "This is a real person you speak of? Not some rediculous fairytale like what that insufferable goat tells me?"

"I speak only the truth to you, Lord Shen."

"As if! There's no way such a warrior exists! I refuse to believe it!" Shen shouts, "Get out of my quarters and get back to work! You'll be penalized for this... this childish gossip of yours!"

The wolf sighs, "As you wish, Lord Shen." With that, he walks away, and back to the tireless metalworking he and his wolf comerades were tasked with. Meanwhile, Shen paces within his quarters, a hint of fear present within his mind.

"One punch..." He utters. "Such a stupid thing to believe! Such a warrior doesn't exist; one never has and one never will!" The peacock shouts before sighing in anger. As much as he'd like to deny it, this telling of a 'One Punch Warrior' did strike a pin of worry and fear in his mind. His thinking is constantly plagued with "what if's." _What if this mythical warrior is real? What if he is indeed too strong for my weapon? What if he were here right now?_ Shen shudders at the thought. With no way to truly deduce if this telling is real for fake, only one option seems logical in his mind. _I must go see this... warrior._ "Ru Lim!" The peakock shouts for the wolf. About ten seconds later, the wolf appears at his quarters.

"You called, Lord Shen?"

"Yes, I have new orders for you and your underlings. I need a letter delivered to the Jade Palace. It shall be an invitation for the Dragon Warrior to meet some 'fans.'"

"But I thought you said-"

"SILENCE! Bring our weapon along with us. I will show this supposed 'Saitama' the true meaning of strength..."

~At the Jade Palace~

"And THAT is the true meaning of strength!" Po states proudly, a wide grin on his face. "Not muscles, not punching power, now even one's sheer awesomeness, but instead, it is the amount of dumplings one can stuff in their mouth!" The panda says proudly. All around the palace dinner table, Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Saitama all stare at Po with unimpressed expressions.

"Are all of your 'philosophies' based around food, Po?" Tigress asks with a roll of her eyes.

"Judging by that belly of his, the 'training' he does sure is!" Monkey says with a smirk, earning a chuckle from everyone but Po.

"Really, Monkey? You know the 'fat' jokes stopped being funny, like, three years ago?"

"Po, we didn't even know you three years ago." Viper comments.

"My point exactly!" Po huffs, quickly grabbing another dumpling off of his plate.

"Speakin' of training, you really kicked Po into shape!" Mantis remarks. "Pretty soon, he might even be able to reach his toes!" He says, earning a small chuckle from the whole table. Po groans rolls his eyes in annoyance. Those fat jokes were _really_ starting to get old.

"Thank you, Mantis." Saitama replies from the opposide side of the table. "My training of Po has indeed had quite the positive outcome on him, although there is one certain thing that he... and all of you could definitely improve on.

"And what might that be?" Tigress asks while leaning forwards a bit. The warrior was always eager to learn new ways to improve herself, and now is no exception.

"Well, although you all won't like me saying this, I do think that you all could improve in regards to your strength." Saitama says. A collective groan is the response he gets from the Furious Five, along with an eyeroll from Po, who had heard this many times before.

"Saitama, I'm all for strength, but someone like you saying something like that is practically asenine." Tigress says to her fellow tiger.

"Yeah, and not all of us here are really the 'strength' type of fighter." Mantis adds.

"Some of us are more 'speed' centered." Viper says.

"I'm speedy." Saitama replies.

"But are you good with weapons?" Monkey asks. Saitama responds by taking his wooden spoon, and somehow jabbing the handel straight through the dinner table, which is also made of solid wood. A long silence from Po and the Five follows.

"Uhhh, c-can you fly?" Crane asks, now slightly nervous. Saitama opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door.

"I got it!" Po says before springing up and opening the door to reveal Shifu, his arms crossed behind his back, and a small letter in hand. "Saitama." He says in a formal tone. "The Jade Palace revieved a letter today. It was addressed to you." Shifu holds out the letter. Saitama, with a slight tils of his head, gets up, walks over, and takes the letter. He reads it over before shooting a confused glance at Shifu.

"Well, what's it say?" asks Po.

"Apparently I have a fan who wants to meet me in the North Bamboo forest. They sayy they have a 'gift.'" Saitama explains. The Five, Shifu and Po all exchange glances, each of them uncertain about this "fan."

"Well Saitama, whaddya gonna do? Po asks the tiger. "Having your own fan; it sounds pretty cool!"

"Yeah... 'cool'" Tigress murmurs. "How can we be sure this isn't a trap?"

"No idea." Saitama replies. "It sounds cool though. I think I'll go."

"You... can't be serious, right?" Asks Mantis. "You really trust this letter?"

"Somewhat, yes. Why would I not?"

"Well, it kinda came suddenly and, well, each of us rarely get fanmail, and even then, they never _invite_ us anywhere." Viper explains.

"Then I suppose this one's special."

Seeing that this is going nowhere, Master Shifu sighs and takes control of the conversation. "Saitama, if you do really want to go meet this 'fan,' then I ask that you at least take someone with you as a guard." Saitama looks down a Shifu, a slightly angry look on his face.

"No." He says quickly. "I refuse to take a guard."

"Why not?" Monkey asks.

"It's... personal." Saitama says. "Anyway, I should get going. Wouldn't want to keep my fan waiting." With that, Saitama walks out of the kitchen, and exits the Jade Palace.

"Thiiiiis can't be good." Crane comments.

"No." Master Shifu replies. "Not at all."

~Note From The Author:

Hello! I'm finally back! It's been too long, I say. Finally, I've gotten the time and inspiration to work on this story once more, and even do a complete revision. (If you haven't noticed that already.) As stated before, a consistant schedule cannot be promised, but updates will be gradually coming out. Plot suggestions still are available to be submitted at my email: SCP3000DM .

Thank you for reading!

~ToTooTwo2


	13. Chapter 13: What Are You Running From?

~CHAPTER 13~

WHAT ARE YOU RUNNING FROM?

"Faster you brutes! We don't have all day!" Shen barks at his exhausted gorilla henchmen. The two beasts have been carrying Shen's largest cannon, the Dragon's Breath, as he called, down to the North Bamboo forest for about two hours. Now, the weight of the colossal weapon is starting to take a significant toll on them now.

"Boss." One of them huffs in a low, gruff voice, "This thing is heavy! If we go any faster, we'll collapse!" The gorilla complains. In response to this, Shen simply makes a small tutting noise and leaps in front of the gorilla.

"Tell me, gorilla, would you prefer to collapse from exhaustion becasue you went too fast..." Shen suddenly unsheathes his serpant-like sword - Guan Dao - and points it at the gorilla's face. "...or would you rather 'collapse' from blood loss because you went too slow?" The peacock asks menacingly, his expression being one of dead seriousness, as if to say, _I won't hesitate._ Not wanting for his life to end right then and there, the gorilla huffs and continues to walk towards the bamboo forest, earning a slight smirk of satisfaction from Shen. _That's right, you obey ME._ Shen thinks to himself before jumping back to his original sitting position on top of his cannon. As Shen's cannon caravan begins to enter the forest, they soon find themselves surrounded by numerous tall shoots of bright green bamboo, giving the a general forest low visibility. _The perfect place for an ambush... prepare yourself, Saitama._

~Saitama's POV~

"Man, whoever this 'fan' is, they really shoulda' given me a map with the letter. Every inch of this place looks the same!" Saitama grumbles to himself as he travels along the forest path. No matter where he looks, he sees nothing but bamboo, bamboo, and more bamboo! For all he knows, he could've been walking in circles this whole time, and the fact that this is his first time traversing this deep into the North Bamboo forest doesn't help either. Despite all of this, the tiger can't help but feel a sense of peace and tranquility as he walks. The quiet and dormant nature of the forest, combined with the only movement being his own, makes for a calming atmosphere. Little does Saitama know, he is not alone. A little ways away behind him walks the Furious Five, each of them on edge and ready for an unexpected ambush. The group of warriors had been convinced to trail Saitama by Tigress, who had never ceased to drop her suspicions about the letter to Saitama since the Jade Palace recieved it.

"Tigress, don't you this is little... overbearing?" Monkey asks. "I mean, we're practically stalking him at this point."

"Saitama may be strong, but he's not the brightest candle in the room. To blindly trust a random letter like that, it's almost as if he's asking to be ambushed!" Tigress replies quietly.

"Well, as far as I've seen, _we_ are the only people who could possibly ambush him." Crane remarks.

"And yet, he doesn't have half a clue that we're here," Tigress says back. "That blatant ignorance of him _will_ get him into trouble, I'm sure of it." The four warriors behind Tigress exchange glances, each of them having their doubts about her claims. Despite this, they choose to persist in following their leader's orders through the forest. Little did any of them know, that Tigress would soon be proved right...

~Back with Shen~

"Here, stop here." Shen commands as his caravan nears the edge of a large clearing. With a relieved huff, his gorillas drop the cannon on the ground, the weapon landing with a loud *thump.* Shen whips around and nearly stabs one of his henchmen right then and there. "Are you _crazy_?!" He hisses in anger, "Do you want us to get caught?" The peacock questions rhetorically, his sword now uncomfortably close to the gorilla's neck. A small grunt and a shake of the head _no_ is the answer he gets from his henchman. "Then act like it." He utters before sheathing his sword. _Stupid animals, can't even follow basic orders!_ The peacock thinks to himself. _I hope Saitama isn't this stupi- wait, is that him?_ A white tiger walks out into the clearing, looking around, as if he is searching for someone. Sure enough, it's Saitama.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Saitama asks aloud, his gaze shifting from one place to another. "Helloooo?" Saitama asks again. There is no answer. With a shrug, the tigers turns to walk off. "Guess they're not here," He mutters. "How dissapointing." Suddenly, a projectile shoots out from seemingly nowhere, and whizzes directly towards Saitama's head. "Hm?" Saitama whirls around and catches the thrown object with two fingers before examining it closer. From the looks of it, it's a sharpened "feather" forged out of steel. "That's odd," Saitama murmurs, "I've never seen something like this before. I wonder if I'm any good at throwing it?"

Meanwhile, Lord Shen has become quite bewildered upon seeing Saitama effortlessly catch his throwing knife. _That speed- it's something I've never seen the likes of. No matter, there's no way he could possibly be what the rumors claim he is... no way at all._ Shen inquires as he quietly begins to approach Saitama from his right side, his plan being to trick the tiger with a 'friendly' interaction. The very same throwing knife he had hurled at Saitama abruptly comes whizzing by his head, scratching the side of it ever so slightly. Shen, due to his low tolerence to pain, yelps and jumps up a bit as if he were badly injured. In the process, he fails to notice that the knife had sliced through seven two-inch diameter bamboo shoots behind him, and embedded itsself three inched into his cannon's steel side. Saitama, hearing the yelp and sound of his thrown knife being stuck into metal, turns towards Shen, who is now clearly to him. Luckily for the peacock, Saitama does not recognize him as anyone significant, the tiger having never heard of the gunpowder maniac before, "Oh, hey there! Sorry, did that hit you?"

 _OF COURSE IT HIT ME YOU IDIOT!_ "Yes, yes, it did, but it's nothing more than mere scratch." Shen says composedly, forcing himself to not yell and scream at the tiger. _I should gut you where you stand!_ The peacock subconciously reaches for his sword, but quickly stops himself. "You're the fabled Dragon Warrior, right?"

"Yeah," Saitama replies. "that's me. From what your letter says, you wanted to gift me something?"

 _Oh yes, I've got a real nice 'gift' for you._ "O-oh, right! I almost forgot! Here, let me fetch it!"

Saitama nods, "Ok, I'll stay here."

~Furious Five POV~

"Was... was that Shen?!" Tigress, who had watched the whole scene unfold, asks, shocked at seeing the young Lord show his face once again. "How does Saitama not recognize him?!"

"Oh my, I guess you were right, Tigress. We should go help Saitama then, right?" Viper asks in a concerned and slightly pannicked voice.

Tigress quickly regains her composure, "No, we shouldn't." She replies, a slight glare on her face.

"What? Why?" Monkey questions, quite surprised at this suggestion.

"He needs to learn a lesson- brains over brawn." Tigress answers. None of the Five say anything in response, all of them now focused on Saitama and Shen.

~Shen's POV~

 _Ha! He just gonna let himself stand there like a sitting duck?! Pathetic! With standards like these, one of my mindless gorillas could be the Dragon Warrior!_ Shen hurries back to his gorillas, who have both finally recovered from their cannon-carrying fatigue. "Quick! Bring the wea- gift! Bring the gift!" He commands. The two gorillas nod, and lift the cannon once again. They haul it to the clearing, where Shen has them position it so that the weapon is aimed directly at Saitama. There is a distance of about ten feet between the tiger and Shen's cannon. "Do you know what this is, Saitama?"

"No, I don't."

 _You will soon, "Dragon Warrior."_ "Good!" Shen says gleefully, "Then it really will be a special surprise!" With that, he leaps up on top of the cannon and strikes his metal talon on it, igniting the fuse. Saitama, who is unbothered by this action, squints his eyes a little, noticing the knife he had thrown earlier in the cannon's side.

"Oh, there's that feather from before!" He comments while pointing at the throwing knife.

"What?" Shen snaps his gaze to the feather, a look of shock soon spreading accross his face as he puts two and two together. _The rumors... they're-_

 ***BOOM!***

Shen's cannon fires, sending a 50-pound ball of lead hurtling straight towards Saitama's face.

 ***CLANG!***

A dead silence fills the forest as Shen, now frozen in fear, subconciously feels his own jaw drop and breath hitch while he takes a small step back. Saitama just caught his cannonball. He _caught_ it. _I-it just instantly stopped! How?! How did he-?!_ Even Shen's henchmen are in shock, although unlike their master, they stand their ground.

"Is this the gift?" Saitama asks, tossing up and catching and cannnonball a few times like it weighs no more than the feather. "It's... shiny."

Shen can't take any more of this, "IT'S NOT A GIFT YOU IDIOT! IT'S A BALL OF METAL! A BALL MEANT TO _KILL_ YOU! AND Y-YOU CAUGHT IT! YOU. _CAUGHT._ IT. HOW?!" Shen shouts at the top of his lungs in shock, fear, surprise, and anger. He takes a few deep breaths before realizing the fate he has just damned himself to.

"You...wanted to kill me?" Saitama asks, his eyes narrowing.

"N-no! Wait! I- AH!"

Shen abruptly flutters off of the cannon as the very same cannonball that he had shot at Saitama comes hurtling back at his cannon, shattering both the weapon and projectile upon impact. With clenched fists, Saitama begins to stalk towards Shen

"STOP! P-PLEASE STOP!" Shen begs the tiger while backing up and reaching for his sword.

"You... you wasted my time, made me come all the way out here, for _this_?!" Saitama questions in an angry tone. Shen yelps a little at Saitama's sudden anger, and skitters back, resulting in him tripping on a rock jutting up from the ground. Before he knows it, Saitama is towering over the peacock. In a fit of panic, the peacock attempts to slash Saitama with his sword. However, before he even see what's happening, his blade finds itsself in the hand of Saitama. With one quick clench of the fist, the sword shatters into pieces. Shen feels his life flash before his eyes as Saitama reels back his arm for a punch, but is miraculously spared when one of his gorilla henchman attempt to tackle Saitama from behind. Saitama, having heard the brute approaching, prior to the attack, reels around and releases his punch on the unlucky gorilla.

 ***P O W***

Needleess to say, Saitama's punch served as a better "parting" gift to the gorilla than Shen's cannon could to anything else. The other henchman, arguably the smarter one, tries to flee, but is confronted by the Furious Five. Saitama, on the other hand, turns to find Shen now far away from him and fleeing for his life.

~Shen's POV~

 _Run, Run, RUN. Don't look back, just RUN._ Shen's mind races as he too races away from his near-death experience, Saitama. He looks around frantically for any sort of escape method and spots a nearby cave. _There, THERE! I can escape there!_ The peacock rushes into the near pitch black cave and skurries behind a large rock, thinking that he had lost Saitama. His breaths are deep and panicked, as the once powerful and skillfull Lord has been rendered cannon-less and weaponless. _The rumors... they're true. How? HOW?! How is he so strong?! What did he do?! My weapon was supposed to be unstoppable!_ As these panicked thoughts run through Shen's mind, he feels his heart skip a beat when an all-too familiar voice speaks right beside him.

"What are you running from?"

 ***P O W***

~Note From The Author:

Hoo boy, I sure pumped this chapter out quick! I guess that's what happens when ya get let outta school early! (Thank you, snow!) Anyways, thanks for reading Chapter 13 of OPT. Was it exciting? Was it fun to read? Was it an improvment form my old chapters? (I sure hope so!) Lemmie know in the reviews! I'm always happy to read your feedback. See you all in Chapter 14!


	14. Chapter 14: Not Strong Enough

CHAPTER 14

NOT STRONG ENOUGH

"Ugh, some 'fan' that guy was." Saitama mutters to himself as he turns away from a now shattered boulder and minute scraps of metal that once used to be Lord Shen, "Now then, how do I get outta here?" The tiger glances around to try and find the way he had came. He spots a small shaft of light seeping into the cave, most likely coming from the entrance. With a smile, Saitama begins walking towards the light. Unbeknownst to him, his punch has done a whole lot more than just annihilate Shen. A loud rumbling in the mountain causes Saitama to stop in his tracks and look around once more. "Huh? What's going on?" He asks aloud. Almost immediately after him saying this, a massive portion of rocks from the ceiling comes crashing down, sealing off the entrance enshrowding the cave in complete darkness. One particularly large boulder comes hurtling towards Saitama from the ceiling.

*CRASH!*

Having heard the boulder falling, Saitama punches the it, making the rock practically explode into pieces upon impact. "Looks like I'm not coming the way I came." The tiger comments, "Guess I'll have to make my own way out."

~Furious Five's POV~

"What the heck was that?!" Tigress asks aloud upon hearing the cave collapse.

"It sure wasn't the explody-thing!" Monkey jokes while pointing at Shen's destoyed cannon.

"Monkey! This is serious!" Viper scolds.

"G-guys, look over there!" Crane points to a large pile of boulders in the distance. Dust is still floating up from the rocks- a sign of a recent cave collapse.

"Uhh, wasn't there supposed to be a cave there?" Asks a worried Mantis.

"Come on!" Tigress calls, already already sprinting towards the rubble. The rest of the Five follow, with Crane taking to the air to scout out the collapsed area.

"I don't see him anywhere!" Crane calls from above as he circles the mountain.

"There's nothing among the rocks!" Viper adds while poking her head out from a crack between two large boulders.

"Try looking in th-" Tigress starts to say.

*CRASH!*

A large part of the mountain explodes open, revealing Saitama standing upright, his arm still outstretched. "Finally," he says to himself, "I was starting to think that direction was down!" The tiger looks over to see Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Tigress staring at him, each with mixed emotions. "Oh hey guys! Wait... why are _you_ here?" He begins to walk over to them. Almost immediately, Tigress feels a strong sense of guilt.

"We, uh, were worried about the letter you recieved; that it might be a trap, which it was, so we-" Tigress is cut off in her reply.

"We?" Viper asks.

"Yeah, we?" Crane repeats the question while he lands next to Mantis.

"Tigress, that was _your_ idea." Mantis comments.

"You... followed me?" Saitama asks Tigress, his eyes narrowing every so slightly.

"Ye- no! No... we, um," Tigress sighs a little, "We just- I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be hurt, or captured, or killed, or-"

"Tigress, do you not think that I can take care of myself?" Questions Saitama, "Did you think that I needed some sort of... _guard_?" Tigress is silent.

"I..." She finds herself unable to formulate a sentence.

"Out of all people in China, I would expect The Furious Five, and especially you, Tigress, to understand that I do _not_ need to hide behind the protection from others."

Tigress opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. This is the first time that she truly doesn't know what to say. She had been in arguments before with her fellow warriors; Monkey, Mantis, Crane, Viper, _especially_ Po, and heck, even Shifu! Every time, she always had something to say back- a statement to contend with. Her arguments always ended with a resolution, or her storming off in anger, or a punch to Po's face, but never had she stayed silent like this. Out of pure narcissism, she suddenly has an outburst.

"It doesn't matter how much confidence any of us have in you, or how strong you think you are! Just because you're the 'Dragon Warrior' doesn't mean you're invincible! You're still just like us: mortal, imperfect, and, in my personal opinion, EXTREMELY poor judgementally! What if a new, stronger threat arises and you have to face it alone? What if you're not strong enough to face them?! What if-" Tigress is interrupted by the sudden sight of Saitama's fist flying straight for her face. Time seems to slow as her eyes widen in shock and she freezes in fear. _Is this the end?_ She thinks. _Am I going to die right here and now? Is Saitama, the Dragon Warrior going to kill me? And in one single punch?!_

 _ ***P O W***_

There it was, that signature crack, that sound signaling armagheddon. But Tigress is... still alive? She slowly cracks open her eyes, only to be taken off guard when an unimaginably powerful gale of wind blasts right past her face and body, Saitama's fist now mere half an inch away from her face. The punch-induced storm of wind continues on for a good five seconds before finally fading away. Saitama looks Tigress directly in the eye, his practically omnipotent fist still mere cenimeters away from her. "What if _I_ am not strong enough, Tigress?" He asks as if he were challening Tigress' question. Both Tigress and the rest of the Five are too frozen in shock to say anything back. Without saying a word, Saitama slowly lowers his arm before walking past the Five, and departing back towards the Jade palace. After a moment of silence, Tigress slowly turns to a sight that she will never forget: A massive expanse of completely leveled ground now spanning through the bamboo forest, all because of the mere _wind_ from Saitama's punch.

~Note From The Author

Truth be told, this chapter was a tiny bit rushed, thus explaining the shorter length of it all. I apologize if it seems dissapointing, but I don't think that the next stage of this story would have fit well in this chapter. Despite my recent uploads being daily, I cannot promise that this will be a consistant pattern. After all, it's only been by chance that I've gotten so much time off of school nowadays. That aside, I thank you all once again for reading. See ya next time!

~ToTooTwo2


	15. Chapter 15: Conspiracies

~CHAPTER 15~

CONSPIRACIES

The walk back to the Jade Palace is a silent and quite tense hike for the Furious Five. To Monkey, Viper, Mantis, and Crane, the path they walked along, which just so happened to be the very same one Saitama had "built," served as an ever-present reminder of both Saitama's strength, and how close Tigress truly was to an unavoidable demise. This near-death experience, however, is not what keeps Tigress silent. Instead, it is Saitama's response to her question that mutes her with a troubled mind. Despite him only addressing her "not strong enough" possibility, his response somehow perfectly countered her second question, and she hated it. What if Saitama did face a new, extremely strong threat alone? Even without any good judgment and control of his fighting, surely his overwhelming strength would ultimately render him victorious! All her life, Tigress had been taught about discipline and control, especially in the department strength. Without such regulation of her strength, she would be hopeless! Yet here was Saitama, this random tiger who came from practically nowhere, opposing the very basic principals of kung fu, and succeeding! It made no sense to her how such an undisciplined, untrained fighter could be so invincible. _There must be something else behind it. She thinks, Some method he uses to acquire his strength. Whatever that method is... I WILL find it._

~Saitama's POV~

 _"What if a new, stronger threat arises and you have to face it alone? What if you're not strong enough to face them?!"_ Tigress' words repeatedly echo through Saitama's head again and again, like some sort of livid tune. Truthfully, the thought of facing against an opponent stronger than himself did not scare Saitama, but instead ignited him with a sort of excitement and anticipation. An opponent of strength matching his would mean a real fight- an actual challenge. But then again, is that Saitama truly wants? _If I can end any fight in one punch, there's no challenge, no risk, and perhaps, in the end, no point. So why then, why do I even bother fighting?_ These sudden existential thoughts prove especially disturbing to Saitama, seeing as they could possibly have rendered his lifelong goal - his one dream to become the world's strongest warrior - completely useless. What was once a set purpose and blazing fire of determination in Saitama's heart now had faded, leaving only a small spark of confusion behind. After a quick 15-second dash up the thousand steps to the Jade Palace, Saitama heads off to his room to both rest and think further about his troubling questions. _I'll skip evening training today_ , Saitama thinks, _It's not like I need it._

~Furious Five's POV~

The uncomfortable silence from before still lingers over the Five as they climb up the 1000 steps of the Jade Palace. None dared to speak, mostly due to Tigress' deafening silence and clear closeted rage. In any other circumstance, the rest of the Five would gladly indulge in conversation with one another, despite their leader's sour mood. But this time was different. Tigress was angry, and not just about some petty issue or minor inconvenience. No, this time, it was about something personal, and each of the four non-tiger masters knew that it hit close to home. It is only until Viper, one of Tigress' closer acquaintances decides to speak up when the furious feline finally decides to talk.

"Um, Tigress?" The snake quietly asks.

"What?" Tigress snaps while keeping her head straight. Her voice is dripping in annoyance.

"Is... there something troubling you?" Viper already knew the answer to this question, but what she didn't know is what was bothering Tigress. A few seconds of silence go by before the tiger answers.

"Let me ask you the same thing, Viper. Is something troubling _you_?"

"No... no there isn't."

"Then yes, there are _two_ things troubling me..."

The conversation ends there.

~Later That Evening~

After an hour long session of kung-fu training, Po and the Five head off to their respective rooms to catch some shut-eye for the night. That evening's training had been quite the eventful experience, seeing as the Masters had a whole lot less to discuss with eachother; well, at least a lot less to discuss in Tigress' presence. Speaking of Tigress, throughout the entire session, the feline had been holding a strong suspicion of Saitama and his apparent absence from the training. After the rest of the Masters have left, she pulls Shifu aside.

"Master Shifu." Tigress says from behind the red panda.

"Yes, Tigress?" Shifu turns to face his student.

"Where was Saitama today? Why didn't he train with us?"

"He said he was feeling rather sick when he got back, and requested that he skip training for the evening."

"How'd he get sick so suddenly?"

"The dust from the cave collapse- Saitama told me a whole bunch of it had gotten into his lungs."

"So... he wasn't sick, but was instead _hurt_?"

"Well I suppose that's one way to put it."

"I see... thank you Master Shifu

"Your, uh, welcome, Tigress." Shifu replies with a bow as the Tiger begins to walk away, her mind already racing.

 _Dust in his lungs?! How could Shifu believe such an obvious lie?! Tigress thinks to herself with a small grumble. I have to get to the bottom of this..._ She begins rapidly approaching Saitama's room and is about to burst in, but something stops her moments before she does. Would it really be wise to go wildly accusing Saitama of lies, deceit, and some magical strength training without any proof or anyone else believing her? No, she can't do that. _I need to find evidence, no, PROOF that Saitama lied to us! There's no way he can be so strong... so invincible, and all without proper training!_

"Hello? Is someone there?" Saitama's voice says from inside the room, followed by approaching footsteps. Tigress quickly snaps out of her rage induced thoughts, and slips away into her own room just as Saitama opens his door. "Hello?" He asks again while looking down both ends of the hallway, but receives no answer. With a shrug, Saitama closes his door and returns to his bed to rest. Within minuets, the tiger finds himself drifting off to a deep slumber, unaware are a certain Tiger's growing suspicious...

~Note From The Author~

Oh man, this took a whole lot longer than I expected! I guess that's what they call a "writer's block." Anyways, after a couple days of thinking, I think I _finally_ found a good way to continue this story, so writing the next few chapters should be a breeze. Hopefully they're not as short as this one, though...

Thanks for reading! See yall next time!

-ToTooTwo2


	16. Chapter 16: Too Late

~CHAPTER 16~

Too Late

Gentle shafts of light trickle down and bathe the floorboards of a slumbering white tiger's abode with a subtly mellow glow. The napping feline, of course, is none other than Saitama, who has gained quite an affinity to his rather soft and comfortable bed. But, seeing as his kung-fu teacher, Master Shifu will be soon ordering both him and his fellow Jade Palace dwellers out of bed and into the training hall, Saitama reluctantly cuts his homey hibernation short. With a short groan, Saitama rolls out of bed and into the same puddle of light from earlier. The golden shafts faintly refract through his silvery-white coat of fur. _Man, it sure is hot today."_ Saitama thinks to himself. It was true; the whole Jade Palace seems to have been drenched in a blanket of uncomfortable heat, a quite unusual phenomenon for a building built so high up in a mountain. After rising to his feet and waking his still sleep-yearning body up with a few stretches, Saitama steps up to his door and waits for the booming sound of the morning gong, signalling his calling to greet Master Shifu. To his confusion, however, the ring never comes. Saitama stands at his door for a solid five minuets before peeking out into the hallway. No one is present, not even the sounds or stirrings of any of the Five, nor the stumblings of Po can be heard.

With a growing confusion now present, Saitama peeks into the room accross from his - Po's - for any sign on the panda. Although the room is as traditionally messy as ever, there is no sign of the panda. "Po?" Saitama questions. The only response is an eerie silence. "That's... odd." Saitama mumbles, "Tigress? Crane? Shifu?! Anyone?!" he calls out. Each of his calls is met with no answer. With confusion at an all-time high, Saitama checks both Shifu's and the rest of the Five's rooms, only to find that they have all mysteriously vanished. "Wh- Where is everybody?" Saitama asks himself, now slightly panicked at the Jade Palace's lack of inhabitants. He runs out and throws open the temple doors to go down to the village and see in the people have vanished as well, but is stopped dead in his tracks just outside the Palace front door by an extremely shocking sight. The people's village, _his_ village, was on fire! Immediately, Saitama's mind starts racing as the tiger instinctively leaps into the air and soars all the way down to the base of the Palace steps. A mass of stimuli, both physciall and mentally hit him all at once. The torrid heat, the destroyed buildings, the people's lives, the people he swore to protect, all _gone_. "No, NO!" Saitama sprints into the burning town, uncaring and unafraid, or, in better terms, agressively ignorant of the scorching flames. He _needed_ to find who had done this, and fast. "SHOW YOURSELF!" The tiger shouts, the air trembling at the magnitude of rage in his voice.

"Enjoying the scenery, Saitama?" A smugly villainous voice asks from behind Saitama. He whips around to see... Shen?!

 _No, it can't be!_ As much as Saitama denied it, there stands that same aggravating peacock from yesterday, alive and in the flesh. A very noticable difference is present among him, however. His once white feathers have been replaces with firey red and orange ones, while his eyes now appear to quite literally hold a flame of evil within them. Most notibly, the entirety of Shen's feathers were ablaze, burning bright, but showing not even the slightest sign of damage.

"I wanted to make our reunion a spectacular endeavour, so I whipped up this little s-" Shen's sentence is cut short by Saitama rushing forward and delivering a forceful punch straight to Shen's face.

 _ ***P O W***_

As expected, the bird is instantly obliterated into nothingness- or so Saitama thinks. What once was Lord Shen has now been turned into a collection of air-borne flames, all of which suddenly conjoin back together in the shape of a peacock and give out a near blinding flash of light. Saitama shields his eyes from the light, and lowers his arm to see Shen standing before him once again, just as ablaze and smug as before.

"W-what?" The tiger whispers, incredibly confused.

"Your strength hasn't wained, Saitama. How delightful it is to know that you won't dissapoint me. Now then, let's see how you face off against an immortal foe- a pheonix!" Shen cackles. Saitama feels a beed of sweat trickle down his face. Immortal? He had never thought of something like this before. _If he's immortal, then that means-_ Saitama's thoughts are cut off by a massive stream of fire being sprayed at him. The tiger dashes to the side, away from the fire, and follows up by rushing straight towards Shen. With another punch, he obliterates the phoenix once again. However, just like last time, the same flames from before travel upwards, and reform the dreaded bird known as Lord Shen. "It's hopeless, Saitama!" He shouts from the air as he hurls fireball after fireball at Saitama. "You can't kill me forever!" A small grunt from Saitama is the only response as he dodges flame after flame. Shen eventually lands back on the ground and charges at Saitama with his a now aflame Guan Dao. The pheonix strikes with immense speed and precision, yet he finds himself unable to even graze Saitama's fur with his blade. The tiger is simply too fast. After a few seconds of dodging, Saitama abruptly grabs then by the neck and holds him eye-level. If looks could kill, Shen would be dead ten times over... literally. "Tell me where the rest are _now_." Saitama growls. A choking Shen takes this as an oppertunity to strike. With a quick swing, the attempts to plunge his sword into Saitama, only for the blade to shatter upon impact. With another growl, Saitama hurls Shen through about twelve houses and off of the village cliff, uncaring that the bird would come back. _I have to find them._ Saitama thinks before charging through the village, looking left and right, high and low, for any sign of Po or the Five. His search proves fruitless, that is, until he sees what looks to be Tigress' paw sticking out from a collapsed building. Immediately, Saitama sprints over, grabs ahold of the paw, and yanks what he expects to be Tigress out of the rubble. What he gets, however, makes him sick to his stomach. He indeed did get Tigress' arm out of the rubble, but not Tigress. The arm that Saitama holds is charred horribly where it would have attached to the shoulder. _No..._ Saitama starts to throw off the rubble that the arm was under. _No No NO!_ The Tiger feels his blood run cold at the sight he is met with upon the last piece of rubble being thrown away. In a way, Po, and Furious Five, and even Shifu are all sitting infront of him. Well, at least they _would_ be, had they all not been reduced to mere piles of charred ash. Saitama stands motionless, too in shock to speak. His friends- they were... _gone._

"It's over, Saitama. They're gone!" Shen, who has retuned from his being thrown off a cliff, laughs. "You were too slow to save them!" Saitama falls to his knees, Tigress' arm still in his hand. His head droops in defeat as the flames grow taller around him. With a victorious grin, Shen stretches out his arm and prepares to blast Saitama with white-hot fire. "Good-bye, Saitama..."

 _FWOOOOSH!_


End file.
